Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC Invests $209,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,312 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Down 1.6 %

Walmart stock opened at $96.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $772.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.20 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.